OSHA Issues Whistleblower Settlement Guidelines

09/20/2016 |

OSHA will not approve an agreement with provisions that may discourage whistleblowing

OSHA published new guidelines for approving settlements between employees and employers in whistleblower cases to certify settlements do not have terms that could be misinterpreted to restrict future whistleblowing.

The guidelines explain that OSHA will not approve a whistleblower settlement agreement with provisions that may discourage whistleblowing without outright prohibiting it, such as:

Provisions that require employees to waive the right to receive a monetary award from a government-administered whistleblower award for providing information to a government agency about violations of the law.

Provisions that require the employee to advise the employer before voluntarily communicating with the government or to affirm that the employee is not a whistleblower.